WHEAT FARMERSʹʹ PERCEPTIONS OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: THE CASE OF KERMANSHAH PROVINCE OF IRAN

The objective of this study was to investigate wheat farmersʹ perceptions towards sustainable agriculture. The sample included 140 farmers that were determined using Cochran (1977) formula. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.86 for the scales of perception. The findings revealed that farmers have good perception about sustainable practices such as resource conservation, negative effects of agrochemicals, pestsʹ invasion arising from successive cultivation. However, there was moderate attitude towards the negative environmental effects of modern agricultural technologies. Regarding negative long-term effects of agrochemicals on agricultural productivity and low tillage, respondents has negative perception. It was found that there should be a relationship between a numbers of socioeconomic factors, such as education, information sources’ use, extension participation, and the perception towards sustainable agricultural practices.